Verdict
Summary
Some movies have a message, some are just meant to entertain, while movies such as this just thrill you and roll the credits before you’ve even had a chance to catch your breath.
Plot:
A psycho kidnaps a teen girl, mistaking her for a rich man’s daughter, but her father is an ex-cop who’ll stop at nothing to get her back.
Review:
On her birthday, Kathy (Abby Bluestone) is walking through the park with her ex-cop, single dad Sean (James Brolin) when a crazed psychotic man named Soltic (Cliff Gorman) kidnaps her in broad daylight in a stolen car. Seeing it happen from a few feet away, Sean takes pursuit on foot, dogging him through the city. Sean steals a car himself, crashes, and is arrested for grand theft auto, putting his pursuit of his daughter’s kidnapper on hold. When the police Lt. (Richard S. Castellano) hears Sean’s story, he lets him go, but when another cop named Barnes (Dan Hedaya) hears that Sean is around, he makes it his duty to make sure Sean is stopped dead in his tracks because he has an old grudge against him. With no real help from the police, Sean retraces his steps to find a clue that Soltic may have left behind, but with Barnes on his tracks trying to kill him (literally) and dwindling time left for his daughter, he’s got incredible odds against him. When Soltic finally makes a ransom call to the family he thinks he’s stolen their child from (he made a mistake, believing she’s from a rich family), police finally realize that Sean was right and that the madman has his kid. A shaky plan is made to exchange money for the girl, but Soltic isn’t just crazy, no: he’s crafty and has an exit strategy … but not if Sean has anything to say about it!
A nonstop chase film that really shows the protagonist’s desperation and strength, Night of the Juggler takes off running and never stops until a satisfying climax in the underground subway system. Brolin runs, steals, smacks guys around, gets clobbered by a gang, jumps, and takes a lot of punishment, but he showed what great shape he was in here with an incredibly physical role. The plot is pulpy but simple and easy to follow with a creepy and scuzzy bad guy (Gorman reminded me of Joe Spinell with his weird eyes and New York accent), and the movie just never quits with a breakneck pace. Some movies have a message, some are just meant to entertain, while movies such as this just thrill you and roll the credits before you’ve even had a chance to catch your breath. Directed by Robert Butler, while Sidney J. Furie was originally on the film for a few weeks but was replaced.
Kino Lorber’s new 4K Ultra HD / Blu-ray release (two-discs) of Night of the Juggler looks great in its sparkling new transfer from a 4K scan of the 35mm original camera negative. It’s never looked or sounded better, and it comes with an audio commentary by two film historians, an interview with Brolin and another co-star, plus a feature on director Furie, and the trailer. There’s also a slipcover and reversible artwork.
